Expansion joint kit



July 24, 1962 F. L. NETTLETON EXPANSION JOINT KIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 25, 1957 INVENTOR. Felix L. Meliklm fiMWM A TTOKNEYS July 24, 1962 F. NETTLETON 3,

EXPANSION JOINT KIT Filed June 25, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1a um" l: WI 8%} {W INVENTOR.

geizkz if. likillefian A TTORIVEYS United States Patent U 3,045,565 EXPANSION JOINT KIT Felix L. Nettleton, 51 W. OReilly St., Kingston, NY. Filed June 25, 1957, Ser. No. 667,900 2 Claims. (CI. 94-18) My invention relates to means for forming metallic reinforcing joints in concrete. One of its principal advantages resides in the fact that the same basic dowel may be used to form any of a number of different joints which ordinarily require different structural elements.

The invention is, however, primarily used as an expansion joint to facilitate the movement of the finished concrete in expansion and contraction, while providing guidance, rigidity, and alignment control to make a strong permanent construction such as is required in all roads, buildings, runways, etc.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-section showing an expansion joint constructed according to my invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-section taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the blank from which one part of the cover is formed;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one of the two halves of the cover or housing;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the supporting chair;

FIG. 6 is a side view, with the concrete in section, showing the first half of a rigid joint;

FIG. 7 shows the cover member or housing used to protect the threads on the protruding portions of anchor members embedded in a concrete block;

FIG. 8 shows an alternative blank from which the cover members may be formed; and

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing two of the FIG. 8 blanks ready for assembly.

Like reference characters denote like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, the principal dowel ele ment 10 is L-shaped, and provided with a fixed flange 11 along its horizontal arm. The end 12 of this arm is threaded with a special strong coarse thread adapted to mesh with the internal threads on the square nut 13. This threaded end 12 of the dowel 10 is encased in a cover which consists of a first portion 15 of circular crosssection and a second portion 16, which has a square crosssection. Each portion of the cover is made of two identical parts, 16a, 16b, 15a, 15b.

FIGURE 3 shows a blank which may be out along the line A. The left hand part may then be bent to form cover member 16a or 16b, and the right hand part to form 15a or 15b. The two parts may then be re-attached to each other by spot-welding or the like, if desired. It will be noted that each element 16a or 16b consists of a central portion 18 which serves as either the top or bottom of the first cover, and is provided with a transverse slot 19 near two edges thereof. This central portion 18 is surrounded by the tabs 20 and 21 which bend up or down to form the sides of the square cover 16 and 22 and 23 which are bent to form the ends thereof, the tip 20a of the side tab 20 passing through the slot 19 and then being bent back to hold the assembly together. A semi-circular portion of the tab 23 is cut out at 23a to register with the end of cover member 15, which cosists of the two semicylindrical halves 15a and 15b, each of which carries along one longitudinal edge a plurality of tabs 24 and along the other longitudinal edge a slotted flange 25. The tabs 24 of the part 15a are adapted to fit into the slots 26 in the flange of the part 15b, and the tabs on the part 15b fit into the slots in 15a in a similar manner.

FIGURE 8 shows an alternative blank from which both cover members 15 and 16 may be made. As shown in this figure the portion of the blank which is to form the element 15 is notched at band C. This permits the longitudinal edges of this portion to be drawn upward to form a semi-cylindrical cover member butting against the end of the cover member 16 when the blank is bent along the lines D and E. This blank is not otherwise different from. that shown in FIGURE 3.

To assemble an expansion joint the dowel 10 is inserted in the registering holes 27, 27a in a pair of elongated channel members 28, 28a, adapted to receive between them a suitable resilient material. These elongated channel members are provided with tabs 40 which project into the concrete for anchorage and to act as stiifeners so that the channel members will move with the concrete. The dowel is pressed through until the flange 11 engages one of the channel members. The two parts of the cover member 15 are then fastened together and slipped over the horizontal arm of the dowel 1.0. This cover projects through the hole 27 in the channel member 28, which is made just large enough to accommodate the cylindrical cover but too small to pass the projecting tabs 24, which serve as stops. The square nut 13 is then threaded onto the dowel 10 and the end of the dowel is covered by a resilient spacer 29, which may 'be made of foam rubber, for example and provided with a recess 41 to receive the end of the dowel. When the concrete expands, the dowel end will first move into this recess, and then compress the resilient spacer. The two parts 16a and 16b of cover member 16 are then fitted together over the nut 13 and spacer 29, the tip 20a of tab 20 of one half of the cover member 16 being slipped through the slot 19 of the other half, and may then be bent out to lock the cover together. Since the entire interior of the cover is filled by the dowel, nut and spacer, which will support it against the pressure of the concrete, the cover may be made of relatively thin and inexpensive material.

The chair 31 is then placed in position, with its tabs 32, 32a extending upwardly through the slot 19 in the cover 16. These tabs are notched at 33, 33a near their upper ends to receive a temperature bar 30. It will be noted that the chair is provided with a seat 34 for the bottom of the housing, transverse flanges 35, 35a for strength, and base members 36, 36a to maintain it in a strictly vertical position. The chair may be provided with registering holes 37, 37a to receive an aligning bar of the type carrying a longitudinal rib which will fit into the notches 38, 38a. The concrete may then be poured and the concrete is free to expand or contract independently of the dowel within the housing.

If one of the adjacent slaps is poured before the ground for the other is completely prepared, a single channel member may be used as shown in FIGURE 6, and the joint otherwise assembled in the same manner as in the case of FIGURE 1. After the concrete has been poured to the left of the channel member, as shown in FIG. 6, the dowel may be unscrewed, using its vertical arm as a crank, and withdrawn from the housing. The ground on the right of the figure may then be prepared without danger of damaging the dowel itself or tools which might come into contact with it. The dowel may then be screwed back into the nut and concrete poured to form a slab at the right of FIGURE 6'. This may be either a plain construction joint, as shown in FIG. 6, or an expansion joint, in which case a second channel member and the necessary packing material should be positioned at the right of the single channel member shown in FIG. 6, in the manner shown in FIG. 1, before the dowel is reinserted in the housing.

If the joint is used in a wall, the chair and channel members are not ordinarily used, but a flat header may be substituted for one channel member. The joint is then assembled in the manner already described, the dowel being inserted through a hole in the header. After the concrete on the housing side of the header has been poured and set, the dowel is withdrawn, the header stripped away, and the dowel reinserted, at which time it may be set either for a construction or an expansion joint.

If the dowel is to be used as an anchor member when pouring a pier or the like, as shown in FIG. 7, the knockout portion 14 of the tab 22 (shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 3) should be removed. The housing is then closed about the nut 13, which is screwed onto the threaded end of the dowel, and concrete is poured about its lower end. When the pouring has been completed, the housing may be employed as a socket wrench to remove the nut, and the housing and nut re-used to protect another dowel. Alternatively, the nut may be screwed back on and only the housing re-used.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing specific embodiment has been described purely by way of example, and may be modified as to specific details without thereby departing from the basic principles of my invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an expansion joint of the type comprising two parallel elongated members provided with at least one pair of registering apertures and located between two adjacent concrete slabs, said elongated members being separated by a packing of yielding material, a rigid dowel having a first arm embedded in one of said slabs and lying in a plane parallel to said elongated members and a second arm extending transversely through said pair of registering apertures in said elongated members and said yielding material and terminating in a threaded portion, a nut having a non-circular cross-section mounted on said threaded portion, and a housing embedded in the other slab and comprising a broad portion axially longer than said nut but fitting snugly about its perimeter so as to permit relative axial sliding but prevent relative rotation between said nut and housing, and a relatively narrow elongated cylindrical portion fitting snugly around said dowel and extending from said broad portion to the adjacent elongated member, said housing being longitudinally divided into at least two parts provided with mating tabs and slots.

2. A joint as claimed in claim 1 in which said elongated members are a pair of channel members adapted to retain said yielding material, and said cylindrical housing portion extends through one of the apertures constituting said pair of apertures, at least one of the tabs on said housing being positioned near one end of said cylindrical housing portion and extending outwardly therefrom so that said cylindrical housing portion cannot pass completely through said aperture, whereby said tab serves as a stop to position the housing with respect to the channel member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 850,097 Perkins Apr. 9, 1907 866,793 Lancaster Sept. 24, 1907 1,206,601 Schramm Nov. 28, 1916 1,351,112 Martin Aug. 31, 1920 2,029,892 Olmsted Feb. 4, 1936 2,149,291 Hofwolt Mar. 7, 1939 2,167,423 Nigro July 25, 1939 2,208,454 Geyer July 16, 1940 2,227,614 Willard Jan. 7, 1941 2,262,859 Robertson Nov. 18, 1941 2,301,865 Geyer Nov. 10, 1942 2,319,713 Williams May 18, 1943 2,323,026 Geyer June 29, 1943 2,325,472 Brickman July 27, 1943 2,358,328 Heltzel Sept. 19, 1944 2,410,099 Olmsted Oct. 29, 1946 2,554,415 McGregor May 22, 1951 

